Senate Passes Legislation To Renew Patriot Act

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Published: March 3, 2006

The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation renewing the sweeping antiterror law known as the USA Patriot Act on Thursday, ending a months-long impasse on Capitol Hill and virtually guaranteeing that the measure will go to President Bush to be signed.

The vote of 89 to 10, followed an agreement last month by the White House to add more protections for individual privacy. That deal mollified four Senate Republicans, who had joined with Democrats last year in blocking the bill, an extension of a law enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

The measure's 16 major provisions were set to expire March 10, but if the House approves the bill, as expected, 14 of the 16 will become permanent.

The Senate action was a bit of good news for the president, who has been buffeted by dipping poll numbers and criticism from within his own party on matters including Hurricane Katrina, electronic eavesdropping and port security.

Renewing the Patriot Act was a major priority for Mr. Bush, but resistance from some lawmakers had resulted in a series of short-term extensions as the debate dragged on through the winter.

''The Patriot Act is vital to the war on terror and defending our citizens against a ruthless enemy,'' the president said in a statement from India.

''This bill will allow our law enforcement officials to continue to use the same tools against terrorists that are already used against drug dealers and other criminals, while safeguarding the civil liberties of the American people.''

But the vote on Thursday does not end the long-running debate on Capitol Hill over whether the Patriot Act, which greatly expanded the government's investigative powers in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, strikes the proper balance between government authority and civil liberties.

Some lawmakers who voted for the bill expressed deep reservations about it, and the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is already drafting further legislation to revise it.

The chairman, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, voted for the version that passed Thursday, saying it struck ''an acceptable balance.''

But, he said, ''I want to put down a benchmark to get extra protections which better comport with my own sensitivity to civil rights.''

Since its adoption in 2001, the Patriot Act has drawn vigorous complaints from advocates for civil liberties, who contend that provisions like those allowing the government to obtain library and medical records infringe on basic civil rights.

Then, just before Christmas last year, with Congress rushing to adjourn, the act was caught up in revelations that Mr. Bush had authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without a court order on conversations of Americans and others inside the United States who were suspected of terrorist activity. The resulting impasse prompted Congress to twice extend the original Patriot Act.

The measure passed Thursday adds judicial oversight, giving recipients of subpoenas the right to challenge an accompanying judicial order not to discuss the case publicly, although they would have to wait one year while complying with the subpoena in the meantime.

It also would prevent the F.B.I. from demanding the names of lawyers consulted by people who receive secret government requests for information, and it would prevent most libraries from being subject to such requests.

But investigators would still have the power to obtain information about terror suspects who use libraries to gain access to the Internet, by seeking that information directly from Internet service providers.

''I tried to have conversations with the White House to improve the bill,'' he said, ''but my efforts were dismissed.''

The Democrat who last year led a filibuster of the bill, Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, was so irate over the final measure that he spent much of Wednesday reading the Constitution on the Senate floor to underscore his opposition to ending the debate.

In the end, 34 Democrats joined all 55 Republicans in voting to pass the bill, while 9 Democrats and the lone independent, Senator James M. Jeffords of Vermont, voted against it. Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a Democrat, was absent.